


I have a little over 9 months left

by ever_blue



Category: Free!
Genre: Death, Depression, Falling In Love, First Love, Hell my whole world is made up of angst, Jealousy, M/M, MakoKisu - Freeform, Sickness, don't read this if you're not into angst, high school love life, makoharu - Freeform, makorin - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-10-15
Updated: 2014-10-15
Packaged: 2018-02-19 20:03:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,083
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2401187
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ever_blue/pseuds/ever_blue
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Makoto thanked the Gods out there that he was able to make it back to the other shore alive with his friends that day he tried to save Rei. He was grateful, for being able to swim with his friends again. But as mentioned before, if he were to die during that fateful night, it would be painless, sudden and unpredicted.</p><p>But now, death was on his heels again. And this time, it was well-predicted.</p><p>What's worse? He was falling, hard and fast, for his best friend.</p><p>So, he decides to write a wishlist, a task for everyday until he had no more days left.  He wasn't sure if he could finish everything in time, or would he be too weak to complete his last wishes and leave them unfulfilled?</p><p>9 months is all he have left.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi guys! Totally new here. Well, I was just about to write some fluff or something but then this idea popped into my mind. To those Tachibanana lovers out there, I am horribly sorry. I love Makoto too, but well... my imagination takes me far, far away. I will update this once I week! And i promise to finish it, so please stick with me till the end! 
> 
> Thanks for all the kudos, hits and views! They mean the world to me!

“You…have terminal cancer, Mr. Tachibana.”

The man in front of him had said plenty of stuff to him which made no sense within the past twenty minutes. Even then, the news given to him now was pretty much forecasted, and it didn’t come as a surprise. The man in front of him kept a straight face but that was a doctors’ job when they had to break the news to their patient, wasn’t it? But never in his life could he ever imagine being told that he had _terminal cancer_ in this small, private hospital in Iwatobi, a place he loved his entire life, filled with memories – both bad and good ones. 

And now, here he is, in a small doctors’ office, on a beautiful Saturday morning, slumped in a chair, wondering where life went wrong. 

Makoto sighed. He sure as hell felt like laughing, but his body felt drained of all energy. All those months spent training with his swimming team, months and months of muscle building and training regimens and look at him now, he did not even have the energy to even look the doctor in the eye. He wanted to feel some sort of sadness, anger, frustration and perhaps lash out at the man who is looking at him expectantly for any response, but he was too tired to do so. His eyes did feel moist, but no tears came. He wanted to speak, but his lips were unable to form any words. 

Perhaps the cancer really _was_ eating at his brain, after all.

How could he be so foolish not to notice?

Well, he couldn’t exactly blame his foolishness if he wanted to. It was hereditary, per se, and not many people out of the Tachibana family knew it ran in their blood. Not even the closest friends of his relatives. Not even Makoto’s best friends, as a matter of fact. It was a well kept Tachibana secret. His aunt had it, his grandfather passed away because of it. Heck, perhaps his mother had it in her but she was ignoring it herself, too. Makoto felt sorry for his mother out of the blue. He didn’t want that to be true. Perhaps she had it but she had to ignore it for the sake of her children. Or perhaps it was just wishful thinking from his side. 

“Mr. Tachibana...” the doctor continued after 5 minutes of complete silence from his patient. “I realize that this may be too much to handle and quite a lot to process, but perhaps it’s not too late to receive treatment just yet. There might be some chances of you pulling out of this, but the percentage… is not reasonably high. From your diagnosis, your brain tumor is large, but the cancer cells have not reached to other vital organs just yet. Perhaps if we removed the tumor- “  


“How long do I have left, doctor?” Makoto interrupted, his brain much too exhausted from all the possibilities and possible outcomes thrown at him. He didn’t mean to snap at his doctor, but the man in front of him didn’t seem to mind his response. And this, this was the most important piece of information he needed. Be it 2 years, months, weeks… he needed an estimated answer so he could…

“You have 9 months, Makoto.”

…tell his friends. 

Now, he had exactly 9 months to be with them. He had only lived a quarter of his life, and it was going to end here. 9 months to prepare himself for his predicted death.

 

_How in the world is he going to break the news to them?_

 

He could have agreed to receive chemo and other means of treatment, but it would be a huge financial burden to his parents. He didn’t want to worry Ran or Ren, especially when they still needed to go to school, to college in the future. Being the responsible big brother that he is, he could not afford to put the twin’s future at stake. They needed the money, and he wasn’t born on a pillow made of silk. This meant he had to reject the doctor’s kind advice for him to get the treatment.

 

This also meant he had 9 more months to live. 

This also meant he had 9 more months to be with those he loved.

And…this meant he had only 9 more months with Haruka and his friends.

Makoto had decided that he _wasn’t_ about to break the news to anyone soon.

 

\--

 

(36 weeks)

 

He smoothened his olive green hair as he walked along the beaches of Iwatobi. Makoto had wanted to walk back home straight away after the short, horrifying talk with the doctor, but instead he decided to calm himself by gazing out into the horizon as the breeze blew. He felt a teeny bit better. Makoto had wanted to go home, pull his parents into a tight hug, to tell them that he was perfectly fine, to tell the twins that he was going to be healthy and be here until they graduate. Then he would run into the kitchen to help his mother with the dishes, and pretend that everything was normal. He would pet the cats which frequents his house. Text Haruka. Play video games with him and the twins. Soon after, he would go to his bedroom, slump on his bed and perhaps sleep through the entire week. But he couldn’t. He _couldn't..._

Because that would mean a _week_ will be deducted from his 9 months of time left.

He gazed out into the ocean, all calm and sea breeze. Makoto allowed his mind to wander off, but it wandered off to a distant memory, one where he was swimming against the huge tides as hard as he could, trying to save Rei, trying to get to Rei…but he couldn’t do it. Instead, he had been pulled ashore by Haru, and still he had no idea how Haru had managed to do it because Makoto’s body could easily crush the smaller male with his larger frame. Haru managed to bring him back to life, and Haru being Haru, he could have willed the water to come out from Makoto’s lungs for all they knew. Haru always knew how to conjure the water with some unknown logic, after all. He must be some kind of water wizard. 

Makoto smiled fondly at that memory, allowing a small laugh to escape his lips. After he had gained consciousness, he had told Haru that swimming was meaningless without him. He often wondered if his childhood friend felt the same way as he did. He had meant what he said that night. But... 

But now, his mind wondered to an alternate ending to that night. What if it was too late for Haruka to save him? What if he was already dead by the time they made it ashore? His death would have been unpredicted and sudden. Though, it could lead to other problems as well, such as Rei being blamed for the death of Makoto, if he had died during that incident. And knowing Haru, he wouldn’t forgive Rei for a very long time, had he die in his arms that night. Rei would be a victim, Nagisa and Haru the suspects. They would be interrogated by the police, and Makoto couldn’t have forgiven himself, either, whether he was in hell or heaven, given such things did exist. 

He thanked the Gods out there that he was able to make it back to the other shore alive with his friends that day. He was grateful, for being able to swim with his friends again. But as mentioned before, if he were dead during that fateful night, it would be painless, sudden and unpredicted.

But now, death was on his heels again. And this time, it was well-predicted.

 

\--

 

“Haru? Are you home?” 

Makoto decided it was time to part with the ocean. He went to the nearest family grocer and bought some chocolate (for his own sweet tooth) and some freshly caught mackerel down the dock as he headed back to his home, knowing Haru would be out of mackerel soon. Once he reached his own doorstep, he couldn’t bring his courage to walk through those two front doors. Though he was still pondering whether to break the news to his parents or not, he would inevitably crumble when he saw the twins he loved most. No, he had to fix his composure and made sure he wouldn’t start crying or look like death every time he entered his house. For the sake of his family, that is. 

He walked up the footsteps and to his second house, where his best friend lived. After knocking politely without any signs of an answer, Makoto sighed defeatedly as he could already guess the other’s whereabouts. And that-

“Haru, I’m coming in.”

-would be the bathtub.

 

“Makoto? What are you doing here?” 

Haru was already getting out of the tub, steam heavy in the air when Makoto slid the doors open. Undoubtedly, the freestyle swimmer was in his jammers, soaking wet from head to toe. Makoto couldn’t help but smile, given the situation he was in.

“I…ah… bought some mackerel for Haru-chan. They were caught fresh so…”

In a blink of an eye, Haru was out of the tub and made his way to his kitchen like a tornado, leaving Makoto in the bathroom even before the latter could continue his speech. Makoto could have laughed, if it weren’t for the dull throb in the back of his head. 

 

\--

 

“So what brings you here, really?” Asked Haru, who already had his apron on, wearing nothing but that and (thank lord) his jammers. Makoto watched as Haru grilled the fillet of mackerel while preparing two bowls of rice for the both of them. 

“I was walking by the beach, and I saw fresh mackerel and decided to bring it to Haru-chan to cook and since I forgot to have breakfast I guess I wanted Haru-chan to cook for me, too?” Came Makoto’s reply. The taller male could guess that Haru had figured out something in that mind of his but decided not to pressure Makoto any further. Haru had sneaked a glance at Makoto, and that was about it. The fish was served and Makoto whispered a thank you in a small, sweet voice and ate together with Haru in silence. The taller of the two still could not decipher Haru’s love for this particular fish, but Makoto enjoyed it every time his best friend cooked it especially for him. It made him feel special, and decided he should ask Haru to cook for him more often.

How many days does he have left to savor the taste of Haruka’s cooking?

Nine months.

His heart sank, and his appetite was gone. 

Whether it was due to cancer, he wasn’t so sure anymore.

 

\--

 

“Haru, do you want to swim today?” 

They finished their meal, Makoto taking up the task of cleaning while Haru fed the cats. A pair of dazzling blue eyes met green ones, and Makoto just smiled in amusement. The taller male decided that they should head to the beach today, since the weather was in their favor and all. And besides, the younger of the two was itching for a swim as well. Haru excused himself to go put on a different pair of jammers (no surprise here) and Makoto had to borrow one of Haru’s purple ones. He didn’t have the courage to face the music, nope, not just yet.

Haru noticed something off. “Why don’t you just head home to grab your own ones?” He asked, half-heartedly. There seems to be something bugging Makoto, but he just couldn’t put his finger on it. Not to mention Makoto had wasted three big spoonfuls of rice, and from what Haru remembers, his best friend never once wasted a single piece of rice. 

“It’s just… I don’t want to spoil their Saturday afternoon movie with me barging in? And I forgot to hang my jammers yesterday to dry so…” Makoto drifted off, noticing the photo of them with Rin in the Regionals on the shelf (he smiled inwardly at that one) before noticing Haru had thrown one of his own pair of purple jammers in the taller male’s direction. He caught in mid-air with a smile on his face. “Arigato, Haru-chan!” He beamed.

“I told you to drop the – _chan_.”

 

\--

 

They got changed relatively quick and raced each other to the beach. The sun was hanging high in the sky, but it wasn’t shinning too bright. In fact, it was a rather chilly day. Cool, to say the least. The ocean was keeping its cool demeanor, and for once, Makoto wasn’t afraid anymore. Hell, he had 9 months to live and damned if he was afraid of the ocean now after his near- death situation roughly a year ago. Makoto, even with the bag of stuff he carried was able to beat Haru at their silly little race. Haru, who seemed to be slower on land ran rather gracefully as he did in the water. Makoto wished he had some sort of device to capture the small moments. _‘Who will bring him to the beach next time after I’m not around?’_ he wondered promptly, but shook his head and the thought was banished.

They were together now, and he was glad.

Makoto placed the bag on the soft sand and Haru was off in a heartbeat, Makoto could hear zippers unzipped and his eyes narrowed as the raven haired boy stripped down to only his jammers in a way that would send Gou gushing from head to toe. A splash could be heard from where the taller male stood, and again Makoto found himself admiring and loving the way Haruka swam. He always had. His strokes matched perfectly with his kicks, the way his head comes up for air, the way he cuts through the water with a defined grace. Makoto would miss this. Nine months later, he wouldn’t be able to watch any of this anymore. From now on, if he could, he would watch Haru swim every day, memorize the patterns until the day he dies. 

_The day I die, huh?_

“Aren’t you joining him, Makoto?” 

Makoto jumped slightly at the familiar voice. Familiar enough, but it was pretty unexpected and it made him squeak a little, and to his surprise, Rin was standing behind him with a bottle of cold water to his lips, not looking directly at him, but also watching Haruka drifting further away from them. Rin was in his casual wear, which was what surprised Makoto the most. With a cap and a V-neck black shirt matched up with a pair of ripped up jeans, Rin looked rather… sexy? Hot? Makoto never noticed this before, but Rin looked strikingly handsome, his sharp features were blindingly perfect today.

“Ah…Rin, you scared me. Well, I like watching Haru swim. Think I’ll join him in a little while. What brings you here? Aren’t you supposed to be in Samezuka?” 

“We have the weekend off. Actually, I was about to grab you two out for dinner.” A pause.

“…eh?”

“Gou’s orders. She wants us to hang out more often. I quote her directly, _‘Onii-chan you have to bring Makoto senpai and Haru senpai out more often! You smile more when you’re with them!’_ or something along the lines of those. Here I am and Haru still hasn’t noticed me. Tsk.” Rin scowled slightly, but soon turned his lips back up into a small grin.

Makoto’s expression turned soft. Of course Gou would have said that. And to an extent, it was true, too, because Rin seems happier when he was away from the stressful training at Samezuka. He was even happier when he had Haru to race with. Makoto envied him a little inside, because only Rin knows how to turn the ever-stoic Haruka into a Haruka filled with emotions and passion. Only Rin had access to this different Haruka, and Makoto could only watch by the sidelines every single time. Not that he hates Rin; of course, he loved Rin as a friend as well. But still… he felt easily replaced.

He wouldn't mind it, though, if Rin had to take his place in the future. 

“Sure, of course, Rin. Do you want to join us in the water?”

Rin smiled at Makoto. A real, genuine smile. “I would, but I also had to talk to _you_ about something, Makoto.”

Said male cocked his head and bright ruby eyes met emerald ones. “What about, Rin?”

Rin looked distraught. But the words which came out of his lips were enough to stop Makoto's heart beat for a few seconds.

“Makoto… when were you going to tell us you have cancer?”

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rin found out, but he still needed the answers Makoto was reluctant to give. Will Rin expose his secret to his best friends?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rin seems out of character here, and I am terribly sorry for that. It wasn't enough to make him cry, but I love sentimental and emotional Rin. I'm also sorry if this was a long filler, but I am having a writters block, and I would love to get some suggestions from all of you as to what will happen next? i.e what would Makoto do with his remaining time. DO give suggestions! They are very much welcomed ^-^
> 
> Thanks once again for reading this crappy shit, and actually putting up with all that shit i write. I might be able to squeeze in another chapter by the end of this week. DO stay faithful!

\--

_“Makoto… when were you going to tell us you have cancer?”_

 

\--

 

Rin was giving him his _‘I’m-fucking-serious-here- Makoto-so-don’t-you-dare-pull-your “what are you talking about, Rin?” face-you-little-shit-head’_ look. Though the red head wasn’t Haru (and Haru being more of a Hieroglyph dictionary), but Rin was in a way easier to read than Haru, because Rin is the kind who puts all his emotions on his sleeves, and isn’t one to hide his true feelings. Makoto wasn’t sure if Rin was angry at him, or more like having sympathy on him. Rin, by the looks of it looked really worried for Makoto to some extent, and Makoto is not one bit getting used to this entirely different shark boy he knew. Rin had always chose Haruka – he and Nagisa were always the intruders of their friendship-rivalry thingy going on between those two. They were the outsiders, the strangers, the two who Rin had never really consider as close, true friends. Well, until that fateful day Rin swam the relay with them, at least. Even until now, though, Makoto always felt like an outcast when he was with both Rin and Haru. He never felt accepted. And sometimes, a stranger to the both of them.

 

Why was Rin so worried for him, now? And more importantly, how had he-

 

“I saw you coming out from the hospital, Makoto. Don’t even dare _think_ about lying to me.”

 

Oh. So, this time, it was his fault for letting his guard down. 

 

“You can be angry at me, honestly, Makoto. I saw you coming out, and I went in once you left. My motive was to visit Sousuke, but then I saw you, looking demolished and lost and that had really got me curious. I went in to the doctor’s office, and turns out your doctor was a friend of my father. I asked about you. Only then, did I manage to find out.”

 

Makoto wasn’t angry, though. At least for now, since Rin knows about it, he could have some weight off his shoulders. It was rather hard to keep such a gigantic, life threatening secret to yourself. It wasn’t easy, but Makoto had wanted to try to save some tears anyway. He tried, but he had failed before he even tried. And Rin was worried about him, after all. He was supposed to meet Sousuke but instead went out of his way to look through his files. How could he be mad at his best friends’ other best friend? No matter how violated he felt, he couldn’t hate Rin. He failed at keeping this a secret, thinking he might pull it off.

 

It wasn’t going to be as easy as he had originally thought.

 

“Makoto, say something! Why have you not _told_ us?!” Rin was downright shouting now, voice hoarse, laced with a murderous intent, taking a step closer to where Makoto stood. Thank the Gods Haru had swam too far away to hear them, long since swimming out of earshot. “Alright, you didn’t have to tell _all_ of us, but what about Haru? Have you ever thought about him? Isn’t he your best friend? What about your family then, huh? The twins? Nagisa? Rei? What about me, Makoto? This isn’t something you can keep until you…”

 

Rin was cut short by his own words. How was he supposed to continue?

 

“Rin…”

 

The brunette was dumbfounded. Rin had never been so vocal with him, never in his seventeen years of existence, or the years Rin had been his friend. The only time he saw Rin like this was when… well, there were certainly plenty of times Makoto could’ve recalled Rin being this upset, but most of the time it was directed at Haruka instead.

 

“Makoto, were you really thinking you could keep this a secret until the very end?” Inquired Rin, lowering his voice, but the aggression was still there. “Do you really _think_ you were doing us a favor by hiding this?”

Said male pondered for all but two seconds. 

“Yes.” 

Rin shook his head, shoulders slumped and sighed out loud. In that moment, Rin did not know what to say, feeling very much defeated at that point. He looked at the taller male in front of him, wearing nothing but Haru’s jammers which he deemed a little too short. Makoto was watching him, too, and Rin felt guilty for lashing it out on him like that. He didn’t mean to, but at the same time, he didn’t regret doing so. 

_*_

_From the moment he saw Makoto coming out of that hospital with that pained expression, Rin could already sense something wasn’t right. Credits to his shark-like senses. Yeah, he was to visit Sousuke in the physiotherapy ward, but his curiosity got the best of him. He was about to call out to his friend but his instincts told him to do otherwise. Instead, he headed to the nurse to check up on the name ‘Makoto Tachibana’ and the nice nurse had led him to the doctor who, to his surprise, was a friend of his father, Doctor Yamamoto._

 _He invited himself into the small, white office, as the Doctor was away temporarily for a short tea break. He sat on the chair directly across the desk, placing his stuff on the empty seat to his side._ ‘Man, Sousuke is going to give me an earful if I’m late.’ 

_His eyes busied themselves by looking around the room, but his mind was in some other dimension. What was it that Dr. Moto specialized in? Cardiologist? Optometry? But the room was decorated (could it be considered as decorations?) with mind maps on brain activity, structures of brains, and what else? There was a model of the human brain on the other shelf, which was aligned with books on brain anatomy as well. The walls were filled with PhD’s Degrees and what not._

_It stated: Dr. Yamamoto, Certified Neurologist._

_Oh._

_Fuck._

_Makoto visited a_ neurologist.

_Rin gulped. Things didn’t seem to make sense. Makoto had visited his fathers’ friend, a well-known neurologist in the area. Was there something wrong with Makoto’s brain? Perhaps being with stupid Haruka had totally fried his brain. The read head stifled a laugh at the thought. If he were the brunette, he would have fed Haru to the sharks. Though he wasn’t really sure if Haru really did have special abilities over everything water-related, but he didn’t care. Makoto must have suffered years of endless Haruka-stupidity._

_Rin turned his head to have a glimpse at the back of the room, where some MRI scans were placed on a board illuminating white light. There were several of them, and Rin decided it was safe to sneak around. He had known Yamamoto for ages; he decided that he could explain about his mischief later. As he slid over to the other side of the room, he tried his best to grasp and understand the black pictures which had an X-ray of multiple brains on it. He noticed that there were some names scribbled on the bottom of each picture, too. Naruto Uzumaki, Mio Tetsuya, Kuroko, Tachibana-_

Makoto?

_Upon closer inspection, Rin confirmed his suspicions. It apparently had Makoto’s name on it, and that had caught the redhead in surprise. ‘Makoto went for a CT scan? Does Haru know about this?’ The surrounding air felt heavy all of the sudden when Rin spotted a black, unidentified object on the left of the brain in that CT scan. It seemed out of placed, as compared to the other X-rays. Rin has had watched enough of CSI during his stay in Australia to know that this weird vacuum was rather familiar. Was it some sort of lump? Or were his earlier suspicions true? The one where Makoto’s brain decided it has had enough of Haruka and decided to degenerate by itself._

_Or._

_Could it be?_

_A tumor?_

_It couldn’t be… could it?_

_“Rin? Is that you?”_

_Dr. Yamamoto decided to enter at that very moment, pushing his full-framed glasses even higher up the bridge of his nose. Rin turned around abruptly due to the second surprise that day, and nearly stumbled over himself. He smiled, trying to push down his fear and suspicions as he reached out his hand to shake the other hand which was already ready for a shake._

_“My, my, Rin. You sure have grown! It’s been a long time, and I haven’t seen you for ages! To what do I owe this pleasure?” Mr. Moto nodded towards his desk, giving Rin the green light to sit. “Come on, do sit, no need to feel like a stranger._

_“It sure has been a long time, Mr. Moto, and ah… I actually dropped by to visit a friend of mine, but then I saw another friend leaving from this hospital. He didn’t look like his usual self, so I decided to come investigate.” Rin sat at the spot he first sat, and Dr. Moto was still all smiles as he sat behind his desk and cleared up some paper work. “I was wondering if…if you had a patient named Tachibana Makoto?”_

_Rin pursed his lips, hoping that the scans of Makoto’s brain which he saw wasn’t as bad as what he deemed to be._

_The doctor furrowed his brows, and heaved a breath. “Is that the friend you were talking about, Rin? Tachibana Makoto, the boy with the green eyes, right?” Rin nodded, a little _too_ vigorously. “Yes, he was here a few moments ago.” Matsuoka couldn’t hide his worry anymore, and from the doctor’s expression, it didn’t look like he was going to be told good news any time soon. “Is he an important person to you?”_

_Was he?_

_They were good friends, after all._

_“Well, we did grow up together.” Rin said, his eyes glancing around the room as his eyes couldn’t focus on the present anymore. “I –uh… I had a glance at his MRI scans –or CT scans, and there was a black hole in his brain, and it doesn’t seem normal in comparison with the others. Is there anything he should be worried about?”_

_The eyes of Mr. Moto looked sullen, and his narrow eyes went to the general direction of where the X-ray scans were taped up. Was he trying to hide something from Rin?_

_“Is it a tumor?”_

_As the words left his mouth, the air surrounding him felt ten times heavier._

_“Makoto, I’m afraid…” He hesitated._

_Why was there a need for a doctor to hesitate?_

_“Has terminal cancer.”_

_Rin froze._

_Everything froze._

“ _Since you went through his MRI scans, I don’t think there’s a point in lying to you.”_

_But the red head was already disconnected from the outside world. ‘It’s not possible. Makoto? Cancer? Never in the same sentence.’ Thought the red head, averting his eyes back to the doctor, who gave Rin a look of pure empathy. Rin was sure he was lying. Perhaps Mr. Moto was just playing a trick on him. They used to be pretty close friends, after all. But it was a sick, twisted joke that Rin didn't want to laugh to._

_“Rin, I’m sorry. Your friend has an incurable cancer, and he has refused to take any sort of medication which could prolong his life span, not even painkillers. He has been visiting me for quite some time, and his colony of cancer is very much fatal. We can only thank God that it hasn’t spread to any other organs, yet. He rejected any means of treatment in hopes that he would save his parents a fortune for the future of his younger siblings. He doesn’t want anybody to know of this, not even his closest friends. So for his sake, I hope you will help me keep his secret, a secret.”_

_At that moment, Rin felt his heart ache in a way he had never felt before._

_Tears were free flowing from his crimson eyes._

_*_

“How long do you have left?”

 

“Not long. Didn’t the doctor tell you about this?”

 

“He said I should ask you in person instead. Downright refused to tell me, that old snake. Said that he had told me enough, and the rest of it was up for you to answer.”

 

“He is a very considerate person, don’t you think?”

 

“Fuck, Makoto. Don’t you try to avoid the fucking question!” 

 

They sat side-by-side on the towel Makoto had laid out earlier. They were both looking out into the horizon where the sun was about to set. Turned out the two didn’t get into the water with Haruka at all, much to the younger’s chagrin. And Haru, being the semi-merman that he is- was still threading the water without ever so losing pace, never once glancing at his two best friends. For once, Makoto was grateful that his best friend didn’t pay mind to him.

 

Should he really answer the question? He knew how prone Rin was to crying, and he didn’t want to risk it. If he were to lie, he would be found out immediately. There was no avoiding it, the taller male knew this much. Rin had showed he genuinely cared about Makoto, and for that, the younger of the two couldn’t help but smile inwardly, silently thanking Rin for his concern. He shouldn’t be so selfish as to hide this from him, since the latter already knew too much. 

 

“A little over 9 months, I guess.” Makoto’s heart clenched as the answer came, but he felt a little bit more relieved than he had a few seconds ago. Though, he did feel sorry for pulling his best friends’ greatest rival into his mess. He didn’t want Rin to be caught up in his world, and he really didn’t want Rin to treat him a little bit more special than the others, just because he has freaking cancer. He didn’t want that. He didn’t want any of those special treatments. Or those pitiful looks people would give him if they knew about his sickness.

 

_‘Sorry I had to make you worry, Rin. For pulling you into my mess.’_

 

“Mako…fuck. FUCK! WHY YOU, ALL OF PEOPLE. WHY YOU, MAKOTO?! Ju-just…why _you_?! Fucking hell!” Rin was shouting again, and Makoto widened his eyes at the sight of Rin Matsuoka crying. For him. The red haired male was crying, tears flowing non-stop, eyebrows set in a mournful scowl, long fingers grabbing at Makoto’s shoulder, trying his best to shake the larger male awake. “Why the _fuck_ have you not told us earlier?! It’s fucking _terminal cancer_ , Makoto! There had to be some signs before it came to this! Why didn’t you receive treatment?!”

 

“Rin…calm down, please, people might hear- “

 

“Fuck what the others think! I got back from Australia not more than a year ago, and my belated welcome gift from you is _you getting cancer_. And we swam the relay together! We swam the relay…and…” Rin suddenly stopped, cutoff mid-sentence as if he had figured something out, putting two puzzle pieces together. His cheeks were wet with his tears, and Makoto couldn’t help but wonder if he’ll have to deal with this every time they talk for the remaining 9 months of his life. He didn’t want that. Not for anybody to cry because of him, like what Rin is doing.

 

Rin broke from his momentary silence, hands letting go of the broad shoulders he had been tightly grasping. “Makoto…after our relay last year, you had a spontaneous nose-bleed, didn’t you? After you came out of the pool, your nose gushed blood…and we had to…Was it because of the cancer, or hot chicks? Or better yet, _me_?”

 

Makoto chuckled at that comment. Rin had remembered the little incident.

 

“Makoto I swear to fucking God if you smile like that when I am talking serious business with you I will slap that smile right off your pretty face,” Rin growled, angry again. 

 

“Sorry Rin. But yeah, you’re right. I’ve have had a lot of nose-bleeds in the past, and it wasn’t because of girls, I swear. Maybe it _was_ your fault, but it was mainly the cancer,” was Makoto’s reply, trying his best to hide his smirk, not knowing where this sudden boost of confidence to flirt came from. His fingers traced along the sand, unsure how long they had been going on with this topic. Even so, he felt pretty comfortable here, with someone to talk about his life-long problem to. 

 

Rin had his head turned away, but his mind kept wandering back to the man sitting next to him.

 

“I’m sorry I lashed out at you earlier, Makoto. It wasn’t your fault for not telling us. I mean, hell, if every person acted the same way I did when they knew about this, even I would choose to keep it a secret. Imagine getting punched by a friend for getting cancer. That would’ve sucked.” The shark boy inched closer to Makoto, enough to make the brunette blush ever so slightly. “That’s why I’m going to help you keep this a secret.” Said Rin, a warm smile spreading across his face. Warm enough to make Makoto’s heart pump faster –a little _too_ fast.

 

“Thanks, Rin. That means a lot to me.” It did, in fact meant the whole world to Makoto. He didn’t want any more drama, any more of tears from anybody else. It had pained him to sit through the episode with Rin. He has had enough to last a lifetime. 

 

“You have nine months left, Makoto. Nine fucking months. What are you going to do?”

 

Makoto hummed at that question, giving deep thoughts about the question. 

 

“Win at the regionals for the upcoming competition, and then advance to nationals, I guess. I’m not sure if I can stay long enough for the nationals, though. It's...too far away.” He replied honestly, hoping it wouldn’t sound too offending to Rin. He stole a glance at redhead, who was staring at the ocean again, where his mind wandered though, Makoto wasn’t sure. “And like they say; live life to the fullest. I don’t know where to start or what else to do, but I’m glad I started it with you, Rin. I’m glad you know.” 

 

Rin, blushing and embarrassed had his legs up to his torso, burying his face in his knees and Makoto heard Rin mummer something inaudible. Something along the lines of _‘damn you_ ’ and ‘ _stop being so nice_ ’ and ‘ _fuck, am I blushing?_ ’

 

“I’m sorry, what was that, Rin?” Makoto teased, noticing the way the aforementioned was shying away from him. 

 

“Shut _up_ , Makoto, I still have unanswered questions. And Haru looks like he’s about to finally tire enough to stop. So, I guess I won’t get my answers now.” The both of them averted their attention to Aqua Man, who did look rather out of breath. Soon, Rin would have to leave.

 

“I guess I’ll have to answer them next time?”

 

“No. I want them today,” Rin shot, his impatience obvious in his tone. 

 

“Okay, okay. I’ll call you, then. Would tonight be a good time to call?” Haruka was swimming closer to the shore now. They don’t have much time left and Makoto didn’t want to risk his best friend finding out.

 

“No, I have a better plan.” Rin was smiling his ‘I-am-a-genius-and-I’ve-got-a-plan’ smile, the same smile he smiled many years ago, when he came up with the idea of forming a relay team.

 

Haru was already coming up to them. Any moment now, and Haru might just figure it out.

 

“Would you go on a date with me?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry ;_;


End file.
